Robbery Ring Suspect Sought In Shooting Of Lauderdale Boy

Police have identified a member of a tri-county robbery ring as the man who shot an 8-year-old boy last month in Fort Lauderdale, authorities said on Wednesday.

Five members of the gang have been arrested and the search continues for the man who shot Isaac Holton with a stray bullet, police said.

The gang was responsible for at least 30 robberies in Palm Beach, Broward and Dade counties, Metro-Dade police Detective Lucy Fitts said. Members of the gang also were responsible for a hit-and-run death in Dade County, she said.

Isaac was shot on Aug. 31 by a stray bullet from a robber`s gun while playing outside his home in the 1200 block of Northwest Second Street, police said.

The bullet hit Isaac in the chest, just missing his heart. The fourth-grader recovered, and was released from Broward General Medical Center two weeks ago.

Police received a tip on the robbery gang and later learned that the man who shot Isaac was one of the members, Fitts said.

The men, all crack cocaine addicts, have robbed people in Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Fort Lauderdale and throughout Dade County, Fitts said.

The gang liked to rob people in jewelry stores, mom-and-pop grocery stores and convenience stores, she said.

``In convenience stores, they had a habit of always putting the people in the freezer,`` she said.

The men arrested on charges of armed robbery are: Michael Small, 28, Staielin Sejour, 28, Michael Smith, 28, Mark Hill, 38, and Charles Gokool, 22. Two were being held in the Palm Beach County Jail and two were being held in the Dade County Jail, Fitts said.